


Harry's 26th Birthday.

by August_Ann



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Facebook: Harmony & Co., Fred Weasley Lives, Friends to Lovers, Past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Past Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:07:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25585636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/August_Ann/pseuds/August_Ann
Summary: My submission for the Harmony & Co: Happy Birthday Mister Potter. Set 1 year after James Sirius Potter's birth. When Harry woke up on his 26th birthday, all he wanted for his birthday was to do was to spend some time with his son and his best friend. He ended up with so much more.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 9
Kudos: 59
Collections: Happy Birthday Mister Potter





	Harry's 26th Birthday.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own anything. This all belongs to JKR in all of her transphobic glory. This is also my very first fan fiction, so if it sucks please don't be rude.

Hermione Granger was a formidable witch. This wasn't an exaggeration, it was the truth. Hermione knew that to most wizards, she was considered a "handful." While most witches her age where focused on marriage, kids, and keeping up with their home, Hermione was focused on her career. She had not had much success in the dating pool, most eligible wizards her age wanted her for her noteriety or her connection to Harry.

She had lost track of how many dates had ended abruptly when they had brought up wanting to get in touch with her best friend. Hermione could put up with a lot, but using her to get close with the most important wizard in her life, was something she would never tolerate. Most of the time she was fine with the boundaries she set for herself.

Hermione had a short list of priorities in life and she was proud to say that at the end of every week she knew that every one had gotten her time, love and care. It wasn't hard to keep up with, just a few things: 

**Career**. Hermione loved her job in the DMLE. Every day she was able to leave the ministry knowing that her work mattered. Many criminals shivered with fear when they saw that the prosecutor for their case was none other than Hermione Granger, 1/3 of the golden trio. 

**Family**. Richard and Jean Granger loved their daughter. It was a hard pill to swallow, to learn that your teenage daughter erased your memories to protect you from armed sycophants. But that was in the past and now they had their weekly dinners and sometimes Hermione could even take a lunch or tea time with her parents at their practice. 

**Friends**. For a long period of her life, Hermione was content with the fact that she would only ever have two good friends. She had Ron and Harry, she didn't need anyone else. However now, she had so much more. Neville was a frequent pen pal, the exchanged several letters a week, but during term it was hard to get together with the associate Herbology professor. Luna was always traveling, but whenever she came back to Britain, she always made time for Hermione, and she came with gifts and fascinating tales of creatures that Hermione was only fifty percent certain where real. Ginny was always their for her, she somehow always had time to chat with Hermione about her latest date or the latest milestone that James had. Hermione thought that things would be awkward when Ginny and Harry got a divorce, but it just wasn't. When James turned three months old, Harry and Ginny announced that they where getting a divorce. Everyone was shocked, upset, and devastated, most of all Molly. However Harry and Ginny put up a united front from the very beginning and where amazing parents. There was no drama, no screaming matches in the garden at the burrow for Sunday dinners, or any petty back and forth over parenting choices. The transition from lovers to friends was seamless and painless. Neither Ginny or Harry would go into detail about why the decided to split, they just said they knew it was time. They respected each other enough to know when to call it quits.

The same could not be said for the end of Hermione and Ronalds romantic relationship. It came to a screeching halt on Hermione's 21st birthday. The party was at the Burrow, and it started with Ron accusing Hermione of cheating on him with Terry Boot. It ended up with WWW fireworks that Fred and George set off to distract everyone from Hermione repeatedly hexing Ron and calling him names that to this day, Fred still repeats every now and then just to see Ron turn the same shad as a tomato. It took almost a year for Hermione and Ron to get back to easy platonic friendship, but they did it and she was proud to call him one of her favorite people in the world.

Then there was Harry. Harry James Potter, her best friend in the whole world. Her first real crush (saving a man from execution from the back of a hippogriff will do that to you), her office neighbor, the father of her godson, and the man who she recently realized she was hopelessly in love with.

When the realization of love finally hit her, it was a relief at first. Hermione was having a working lunch with Harry in her office. They where ironing out some details on a case against an illegal magical creature dealer that Harry had arrested a few days prior. These lunch's where common and could last for hours depending on how busy the day was. Harry and Hermione's shared assistant knew better than to interrupt them, it didn't end well. Harry had just showed up with the food for that days lunch, curry from her favorite place in muggle London, Harry hated curry (it was his only real flaw as far as Hermione was concerned.) When the aroma of Curry Palace hit her nose she immediately kicked off her shoes and blurted out, "Harry James Potter. I Love You more than books." Harry's cheeks turned pink and he started sputtering, oblivious to that fact that Hermione's inner thoughts had come to a screeching halt. It was like she had finally found the missing piece to a 1000 piece puzzle in her mind. Before now it had been this vague image that kind of made sense. But now, it was in high definition. She loved Harry. Not like a brother, or like a friend, but real love, intense passionate love. For the rest of the lunch she kept up a normal appearance on the outside, but on the inside she was reeling. Other things where starting to fall in to focus... 

This was why Viktor abruptly broke up with her after going on a double date with her and Harry and Ginny. He mentioned that he couldn't compete with Harry, which confused Hermione for the longest time. Now it made sense. It was crystal clear. How could she be so blind? How long had she loved him? Months? Years? Decades? If she had to identify the moment that she started to fall in love with her best friend. It would be one of the nights in the tent during the Horcrux hunt. They were both broken, but they had each other, and that was enough. When Ron finally rejoined them, Hermione had already changed, she just didn't realize for quite a while.

It all made sense; how no man could ever measure up to her standards, how each of her exes looked at her like she was stupid when she asked why they were over, how Kingsley insisted on putting her office next to Harry's. Most people where intimidated by her, not Harry. Harry wasn't afraid to tell Hermione when she was going too far, when she had worked for too long, or when she needed to stop reading Hogwarts a History for the 101th time. Harry always seemed to know what she was thinking, what she wanted(even when she didn't,) and never complained when Hermione crashed at his place because she wanted to get morning snuggles with James. 

Did Harry feel the same way? Hermione didn't know. All Hermione knew now, was that she was tired of wasting time. 

\------

Harry and Hermione had plans to have dinner at Grimmauld place. They would put James to bed under the supervision of Kreacher, and then they would get sloppy drunk on Fire Whiskey and Butter beer, while talking about anything and everything. Just a simple birthday with his best friend. 

When Hermione floo'd in, Harry was on the floor of the drawing room with James. James was very into hippogriffs right now and had several figurines to play with. He called all of them "Buckeap" and loved every single one. It was adorable.

Harry knew that his son was what Fred referred to as a "witch magnet." It was impossible to not see the stares and not so inconspicuous gestures of women, when he and James would venture out to Diagon or even Muggle London. If Harry was even slightly interested in picking up random women, he knew he could have them easily. Many people in Britain still considered him to be the Savior, combine that with the fact that he had the world cutest Kid and it made a combo that no women could resist.

Except for the witch that we wanted. Harry can't remember a time when he didn't know that he loved Hermione Jean Granger. For a long time he was content with platonic love. Seeing her descend the stairs at the Yule ball looking every bit like an angel, only to go to Viktor arms, was a hard potion to swallow. He found a way to be okay with Hermione and Ron, he focused on Ginny. He knew he loved Ginny, but at some point that stopped being enough. When Ron and Hermione broke up he was filled with so much envy, joy, and confusion. He and Ginny had just gotten married. It would not be right to divorce Ginny the moment after Hermione had dumped Ron. Besides he was happy, that's what he told himself anyway. When Ginny announced she was pregnant, Harry knew he made the right decision, they had started a family together, He loved Ginny... However a few months after James was born Ginny came to him and asked for a divorce. "What do you mean? You want a divorce. Why?" Harry exclaimed. As it turned out Harry wasn't the only one living in denial, Ginny was in love with her Quidditch coach of all people. She had never acted on it, but she didn't want James to have to grow up in a home that was filled with empty love. After Ginny came clean, so did Harry. As it turned out they both where okay with it. Ginny even said it made sense, "you never look at me the way you look at her." So Harry and Ginny cohabitated, got a divorce, and agreed on a custody arrangement. Harry would have James when Ginny was traveling and James main residence would be Grimmauld Place, where Ginny would always be welcome. 

So Harry decided to give it a few months for Hermione to get used to him being single. He started flirting shamelessly, getting her favorite foods for weekly lunches, going book shopping with her, he made sure that hugs and innocent touches lasted longer and longer. However for the smartest witch of her age she seemed to be clueless. So he hatched a plan. 

He would ask her over for his birthday, they would put James to bed, and then he would profess his love to his best friend. So it wasn't the most elaborate plan, but he didn't care what he had to do. He was determined that by the end of the night Hermione would know how he really felt. 

\--------

Dinner was amazing, Kreacher really out did himself, Hermione was finishing up spooning some treacle tart for the sleepy toddler, when Harry announced it was bed time. 

"Nope" cried James. Nope was his favorite word. Nope and Daddy where heard in abundance, usually grouped together. 

"Nope James. Not tonight, It's your Daddy's Birthday. Be a good boy and I will read you a story for bed." Hermione told the precious boy. 

James tiredly agreed and Harry scooped him up and headed up to the room that used to be his Godfathers. 

After Hermione had finished reading Babbity Rabbity and the Cackling Stump for the sleeping boy she got very nervous.

This was it. She was going to tell him how she felt. She was in love with her best friend and she couldn't keep it to herself anymore. 

\-----

While Hermione was upstairs reading to James, Harry was busy preparing the den for his grand plan. The grand plan consisted of lighting a fire, turning some music on and nervously waiting on the couch for Hermione to come down. Harry was optimistic but scared. She was his best friend, his everything besides James. He couldn't lose her. 

He heard her footsteps behind him. "Happy Birthday, Mister Potter" Hermione whispered. Harry turned to her and saw her holding a cupcake in her hand with a sparkling candle in it. 

"What should I wish for?" asked Harry. "Anything you want." Replied Hermione. Harry gently blew out the candle and then stared into Hermione's eyes. 

There was a few seconds of comfortable silence and then at the same time both Hermione and Harry blurted out "I'm in Love with You."

Both Harry and Hermione gently laughed while grabbing each others hands. 

"Are you sure?" Hermione gently asked Harry. 

"I have never been more sure, Hermione. I have loved you for so long, I just finally have the courage to do something about it." Harry excitedly told Hermione. 

Hermione giggled and then reached for Harry's cheek. She softly grazed her fingers down his stubbly cheek as she moved closer to him. 

"Well then I am glad I have the perfect present." Hermione lovingly whispered.

"What is it?" Harry whispered back as he pulled Hermione closer to him. 

"This." she whispered into his lips as she kissed her best friend for the first time. 

The kiss lasted for ever. It was everything Harry imagined it would be, it was gentle, passionate, and perfect. He couldn't believe he had waited this long to tell her how he felt. 

There was still so much more to be said, but for now Harry caressed Hermione's neck and he whispered "Best Birthday Ever, Miss Granger." 

**Author's Note:**

> All right, I did the thing. I wrote my first piece of fan fiction. Let me know what you think. 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> -August


End file.
